This morning Mr. Clemens, the president of Triskeles (the company FFT is run by), gave us a lovely talk about the importance of the things we buy and philanthropy, (linked to giving and receiving). He stressed the point that giving is a key concept in our culture. One of our guests gave the example that breathing is a fundamental concept of giving and receiving. We breath out, to give the plants something to breath in and and what they breath out, we in turn breath in again. Money is another key example of giving and receiving in our culture. Mr. Clemens stated the importance of knowing that what you are supporting (say with your money) can help certain companies and put others in bankruptcy.
As an example of how your money can support different values that you have, is if you buy clothes that have been made locally, you are supporting the movement against global warming (because the clothes didn't have to be shipped).
We have created a pool of donated money to give to organizations doing good work in our home areas. Three of us volunteered to make the decisions about which organizations we wanted to give to. They chose: Phoenixville Area Positive Alternatives (PAPA), The Clinic (in Phoenixville), and the United Church of Christ in Spring City. We hope to be able to give each about $100.
Then we discussed a bit about applying for a job, how to approach a job interview and what to write on a resume. A few people acted out some sample interviews, and we discussed what they did well and what could have gone better.
In the afternoon we split up to do some service work. Some people went to Seven Stars dairy and took a tour of how they make their yogurt there, some people worked at Charlestown farm, some at North Coventry Elementary School and some at Park Springs. At Charlestown farm, we weeded the strawberry patch and the leeks. The people that went to Park Springs harvested peppers and tomatoes and also did some weeding.
